Family farm not big enough for two men

Family farm not big enough for two men - Yahoo!7

The sister of slain Manawatu farmer Scott Guy has told a court the family farm wasn't big enough for her brother and murder accused Ewen Macdonald.

Nikki Guy, giving evidence in the High Court at Wellington, said she noticed there was a rivalry between the two men.

She said they couldn't have an equal partnership across the farm, because it wasn't big enough.

The Crown alleges Macdonald, 32, shot dead his brother-in-law in his driveway in July 2010 because of tensions over the future of the family dairy farm .

The high-profile trial is into its second week and is now focusing on the relationship between the two men.

Ms Guy told the court her brother was a big-picture person, while Macdonald was more task-oriented.

"Scott was big talker, always talking about what he wanted to do next," she said.

"Ewen was quiet and carrying on and doing the work."

Earlier on Tuesday, Joanne Guy, Scott Guy's mother, told the court her son and Macdonald didn't see eye to eye on matters to do with the farm.

Mrs Guy said Macdonald had turned up late to a family function after working at the farm and had complained that Scott Guy, who was already at the function, was not pulling his weight, Fairfax reported.

She said her son walked out of the function.

Scott Guy was unhappy his sister Anna and Macdonald had moved into the family home, Mrs Guy said, and he had also wanted to inherit the family farm rather than buy his parents out.

She said there had been discussions about the future of the farm, which included a plan to grow the farm with her children Scott and Anna lifting their financial stake.

On the day of her son's death on July 8 Mrs Guy was called by her husband Bryan to tell her the news.

She said Macdonald told her at the driveway that he thought her son had been shot.

The Crown has said Macdonald was never close enough to Scott Guy's body to determine how he died before police revealed how he died.